Porter calls Astros’ loss to Rangers a lesson in baseball

Jordan Lyles gave up eight runs to the Rangers, while only working through four innings. (Nick de la Torre / Chronicle)

In this season of defeat after defeat interspersed with the occasional win, Astros manager Bo Porter was reduced Sunday to complimenting a veteran’s comeback effort and hoping a young pitcher can discover the fine line that prevents bad innings from getting worse.

Astros pitchers Jordan Lyles and Edgar Gonzalez were the subjects in question during a 12-7 Mother’s Day loss to the Texas Rangers before 19,730 at Minute Maid Park. The Rangers shelled Lyles (1-1) for 11 hits and eight runs in four innings and got to Gonzalez, who arrived in Houston late Saturday night and Sunday morning was added to the roster spot vacated by Philip Humber, for four runs in the fifth, followed by three shutout innings

Three innings — the third through the fifth — accounted for all 12 runs and 13 of 17 hits for the Rangers, who hit three homers for the third game in a row.

It’s just another teaching point for Porter, whose team wrapped up a 2-7 homestand with its third straight loss to the Rangers and Monday begins a three-day road series with Detroit, which outscored the Astros 37-8 in a four-game sweep this month.

“When you step on a baseball field and it’s competition, you learn not only from your own experiences, but if you’re locked into the game, you can learn a lot from your opponent,” Porter said. “Look at the Rangers … when they get big hits, the majority of the time it’s up the middle, the other way; they grind their at-bats out, their pitchers attack. It’s playing winning baseball.”

The Astros were a far piece from winning baseball Sunday. Before they scored six runs in the final two innings, paced by Chris Carter’s three-run homer in the eighth and Brandon Barnes’ two-run shot in the ninth, they were outscored 12-1 and outhit 17-4.

Rangers rattle bats

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre had four hits and four RBIs with a homer and two doubles, and rookie second baseman Leury Garcia had three hits and scored four runs.

David Murphy had a two-run homer for Texas, and former Astro Lance Berkman extended his hitting streak at Minute Maid Park to 18 games.

Lyles entered the game on the heels of strong outings in his first two starts after being called up from Oklahoma City, but said he never felt in control against the Rangers.

“I wasn’t throwing the ball over the plate,” he said. “I was missing by a little bit, missing by a lot. They hit me around pretty good, and I walked some guys and they hit me around some more.”

As was the case with a six-run sixth inning in the Rangers’ 8-7 win Saturday, big innings wrecked the Astros on Sunday. Lyles gave up four hits, including Murphy’s homer and a 420-foot shot by Beltre to the middle of Tal’s Hill for a double, and catcher Jason Castro had a throwing error.

In the fourth, Lyles allowed four hits, balked in a run and loaded the bases before recording the third out of the inning.

He said his off-speed pitches were so-so and his curveball was “horrific,” and he’s learning the art of damage control.

“That is what the better pitchers are able to do: They’re able to get into those types of innings and, instead of giving up five or six, they find a way to give up three,” Porter said. “From a standpoint of pitch selection and making the quality pitch when you absolutely need it, that is when you talk about graduating to that next level.”

Pressed into duty

Lyles was lifted for Gonzalez, the veteran righthander who was with the Astros during spring training and this month opted for free agency after he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.

Gonzalez was ticketed for Oklahoma City after signing with the Astros on Saturday, but the Astros retained him when they designated Humber for reassignment. He arrived Sunday morning at the ballpark, volunteered to be available and was rocked in the fifth for five hits, including homers by right fielder Leonys Martin and Beltre, and four runs.

But he retired nine of 11 batters in the sixth through the eighth. After a series that has the Astros back on pace to lose 119 games, it was a bright spot on a difficult day.

“He saved the rest of our bullpen,” Porter said. “I knew (Jose) Veras was going to pitch the ninth … but Gonzalez’s effort allowed us not to get anybody else up and put us in good position going into the Detroit series.”

Tigers update: Since blowing out the Astros 37-8 in a four-game series this month, Detroit has lost two in a row to the Nationals and two of three to the Indians. … Outfielder Austin Jackson, who missed a game in the earlier Astros series recovering from a hamstring injury, sat out Sunday’s game against Cleveland but is expected to play today.